The present invention is generally directed to a portable stove assembly which is used for hiking, camping, hunting, or other outdoor activities. The invention is particularly directed to a portable stove assembly which includes a stove which utilizes a liquid fuel and which is capable of being pressurized by a portable air pump.
The prior art portable stove assembly includes a camping stove which is enclosed within a pot-shaped support member for supporting a cooking pot. The support member has a bottom wall and an apertured vertical side wall. The side wall functions as a wind shield while the apertures in the side wall provide drafting to support combustion for the cooking stove. The stove includes a fuel reservoir, a tube which extends upwardly from the reservoir, and a burner unit which is attached to the top of the tube. In some cases, the burner extends above the top of the support member so that a secondary support member is used. The secondary support member is adapted to be supported on the primary support member and, in turn, supports the cooking pot. The secondary support member has a bottom wall which includes a central aperture for receiving the burner portion of the stove. The stove also includes an inlet fixture having an inlet opening for introduction of fuel. The fixture is adapted to receive a fill cap. The traditional cooking stove is provided with a shallow depression at the base of the burner tube. The method of starting this stove is to place a certain amount of fuel in the depression at the top of the reservoir. The fuel in the depression is then ignited with a match which causes the tank to be heated. When the tank is heated sufficiently, the inside of the tank becomes pressurized and causes the fuel within the tank to become vaporized. A flame nozzle which extends from the burner tube is then opened to release vaporized fuel at the burner which is then ignited. As long as there is a flame within the burner, the reservoir stays heated and pressurized. However, under certain conditions, as, for example, a cold windy day, the reservoir becomes sufficiently cooled to become depressurized. This occurs in spite of the continuous burning in the burner unit. When the reservoir becomes depressurized, the flame in the burner goes out. In an effort to solve this problem, a fill cap was developed for the inlet fixture which also has a fixture for receiving a small hand pump for pressurizing the fuel reservoir. This fill cap works quite satisfactorily for the initial pressurizing of the fuel reservoir. However, if the flame within the burner unit goes out when the stove is in use, the cooking pot has to be removed and a supporting member or members have to be dissembled in order for the fuel reservoir to be pressurized by the hand pump. If this occurs in the middle of the cooking operation, it is a source of major aggravation to the camper or hiker. A place has to be found for all of the dissembled parts of the cooking assembly and the cooking pot has a chance to cool off by the time all of the elements are dissembled and reassembled and cooking is resumed. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, a principle object of the invention to provide a portable stove assembly which enables the fuel reservoir of the stove to be pressurized without dissembling all of the elements of the cooking assembly.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a portable stove assembly which includes an air pressure assembly which enables the stove to be pressurized by a hand pump from outside of the assembly.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a portable stove assembly which includes an air pressure assembly that extends through one of the apertures in the support member so that it is accessible from outside of the assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air pressure assembly for a portable stove assembly which is adapted to be attached at one end to the inlet fixture of the conventional stove and which has at its opposite end a gas fixture for receiving a portable air pump outside of the portable stove assembly.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of an air pressure assembly which is adapted to be attached to the inlet fixture of the stove and which enables the stove to be pressurized from outside of the portable stove assembly.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an air pressure assembly for a portable stove which enables the stove to be filled with liquid fuel and pressurized from outside of the portable stove assembly.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an air pressure assembly which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture and which is easy to use by a camper or hiker.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.